Akhilesh says bungalow was damaged by rivals

Under attack for reportedly damaging his official bungalow while vacating it, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday claimed that his political rivals might have damaged the bungalow and declared a cash reward of Rs 11 lakh to whosoever revealed their names.

Addressing party workers in Lucknow, Akhilesh also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ''lying'' to the people about the BJP government's achievements during the past four years.

''Some people, carrying axes and hammers, had barged into the bungalow in the dead of night after I vacated it and had damaged the building... Their names must be revealed... We will give a cash reward of Rs 11 lakh to whosoever reveals the names,'' he said.

Akhilesh also said that one of the Uttar Pradesh ministers had written to the estate department for allotting the bungalow to him. ''You (workers) can imagine who may have been behind it (damage),'' he remarked.

Uttar Pradesh minister Siddharth Nath Singh had written to the estate department for allotting the bungalow to him.

Akhilesh said that the BJP would bite the dust in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

''We defeated BJP in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana... We will beat it again in 2019,'' he added.

The state government was likely to ask Akhilesh to cough up Rs six lakh to the state estate department for ''damaging'' his official bungalow, which he had vacated in June this year following a Supreme Court order.

A notice is likely to be sent to Akhilesh asking him to pay for the damages, sources in Lucknow said.

The TV channels had then showed footage of broken floors, big holes in the walls and the roofs.

The badminton court, swimming pool and the gym were also in shambles.

The officials had also claimed that some furniture and other items, which were government property, had been taken away.